Another Life
by Tai Ping
Summary: It's been 3 years since battle city and Bakura has come back from the dead. No memory, no family, no friends. What will he do when he runs into those from his past, how will he survive in the world, and will the darkness within him rise again? KibaXBakura
1. Wake Up

Feck.

So I finally hit up Wikipedia and see how Battle city ends because yanno, I like being vaugly accurate, and since I want to do things based on the Japanese version (since yanno, english is for pussies) well basically everything that I had written for this up to a point was inaccurate and crap.

So here we go again.

After Battle City, AU? AND HOW!

Why Yes, My name is Kazuki Takahashi and I made Yu-Gi-Oh so I guess this isn't AU...

cough

Shades of Grey

Floating.

I was floating, airy, neither light nor dark, hot nor cold.

"I wonder... If this is death" I thought? I said? I don't know but it echoed about the grey nothing. I remember, remembered, remebering?

Nothing, everything.

Laughing voices, Pain and a cruel intent. Is that me? Is that him?

'Ahh little Ryo-chan, Bakura-Kun, such a good boy, such a good boy ne? Good boys don't end up in hell, no so good? Not so nice?'

The voice, that voice. If he... No not he, well maybe he, for I am he and he is me, if he is here then I'm not dead. I guess I forgot to take my medicine again.

"I'm not bad! I'm sick, Mom said I was sick and the docter said I need to take my medicine to be better"

'And has it made you better?'

Well he has me there. If I'm here and he's here then I've not gotten well. Stress, yea stress, I wonder if Kiba-senpai will have to redevelop his Dule Disk system since it can overtax the mentally imbalanced.

wait...

I remeber now...

'Finally, Death does that to you, although I'm surprised you're still here, After all...'

I always thought it wouldn't hurt to be dead, but the pain started, the grey went light and I screamed...

Prolouge

Why yes I AM evil HAHAHAHAHA I really need to work on my GW fics... LE SIGH

Onward and upward!


	2. Wish I was sleeping

Feck.

So I finally hit up Wikipedia and see how Battle city ends because yanno, I like being vaugly accurate, and since I want to do things based on the Japanese version (since yanno, english is for pussies) well basically everything that I had written for this up to a point was inaccurate and crap.

So here we go again.

After Battle City, AU? AND HOW!

Why Yes, My name is Kazuki Takahashi and I made Yu-Gi-Oh so I guess this isn't AU...

cough

That and I'm a lier.

Shades of Grey

Chapter 1

My ears hurt. But then I guess thats a good thing since it meant I had ears, last thing I remembered was my eyes disintegrating, luckily he shielded me from most of the pain, I never knew if it was intentional or just a side effect but when he took over I stopped feeling, I could just observe. Somehow fitting, leaving the controls and just observing, it's like I had been doing it all my life no wonder it was so easy for someone else to waltz in and take over. Not like he was the first one.

But anyways, I have ears, and the beeping noise I hear is hurting them.

beep

beep

beep...

Were have I heard that before. Oh right, TV it's the sound of a heart monitor, which means.

Wow maybe I was almost dead.

Well I'm not going to go back into the grey might as well get up.

Opening my eyes everything was far too bright for me to see, then again it wasn't like I was expecting much, wouldn't be my first hospital visit I woke up alone. After I had Yugi over to my house and he took over, after we went to that island and he came out again, suddenly I'm beginning to see a pattern. Man my parents are going to be pissed off. Hospitals in Japan are expensive and my insurance is shit.

Ahh look a chair with no one in it, sur-fucking-prize and here I almost deluded myself into thinking maybe someone gave a shi...

"You're awake" Came a cool accusation from the other side of my bed causing the heart monitor to give a small double count.

Slowly I turned my head toward the voice, it wasn't him but something in the tone was like it, and familiar.

"Do you know the trouble you've caused?"

Well slap my ass and call me susie

"Hi Dad" I managed to gurgle through my dry throat.

"First you go missing then you show up half dead what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Ahh can't you just feel the love.

He would have had something witty to say, but oddly even the usual running commentary in my head is silent right now. Maybe I rattled him loose on deaths door this time.

Righto, ears again, I believe my beloved sperm donor was speaking again.

My how bitter I've become.

"This is it Ryou, your mother and I have been talking about this for a while now and well we just can't do it anymore, you're our son but this has gone on long enough, we want you gone."

Yea pop's I've been gone for a while already, not like you or Mom have been around to notice.

"You're 18 now"

Huh?

"And so we'll arrange for you to get an apartment, you know help out for a little bit but then I'm taking your mother back to England with me. You have a citizenship here so you can figure things out on your own."

"I'm... 18?" I croak again, fuck how long have I been under.

"Ryou, quit fucking around! You've been missing for nearly 4 years now! Do you KNOW what you've put us through?? FOUR YEARS of getting over you, of thinking you were dead and then you just showed up at our doorstep looking like a corpse. What the fuck have you been doing? Drugs? Prostitution? fuck... FUCK I don't even want to know.."

He continued to rant his hands clenching and unclenching. I knew he wanted to hit me, but he knew it could kill me and of course, killing a comatose patent is a no no.

Wow 4 years I...

"He was with us."

eh?

A dark skinned boy with blond hair leaned against the door-frame, clearly a dye job but then again his eyebrows matched, Neat!

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Malik We'll be taking care of the hospital bill of our... Friend here. Bakura-san was with us the last few years in Egypt helping at an archeological dig. It was rather delicate work and become quite hush hush in the government considering the strange monster occurrences around the world in the last few years which were believed to be connected to that. Bakura-san here was not permitted to contact you, his... escape to reunite with you has caused some trouble for us."

My dad looked like his head was going to explode, I think mine was too. I was where? Doing what? I think my Da's explanation of my time was more believable.

I closed my eyes as my Dad turned on Malik. The memory of his face seeping in as I could recall my death and him being there. Four Years I've lost, maybe... maybe everything else was just a dream.

Wait did he say monster occurrences?

shooorrt I know but it garuntees I'll update once in a while if I'm not trying to curn out huge chapters. Malik explains all in the next chapter I may move out of first person writing, I'll try and tell me what you think.


	3. I don't make enough money

okay figured I'd work on a part two for a little while I really need to be working on my GW stuff.

Especially since I don't even LIKE Yu-Gi-Oh or it's fanfiction but I guess that's why I'm writing it.

Shades of Grey 2

'Nother day nother dollar' Bakura thought sullenly as he pushed back some of the hair that had fallen out of his ponytail. One would have hardly recognized him from the days of high-school. While not getting much taller he had changed somewhere along the way enough so that even though the boy know as Yu-Gi and his friends came to the diner he worked in they never even gave him a second glance. When he saw them the first time and they had ordered without even a hello or 'oh my God we thought you were dead' or hell he would have settled for a 'hey by the by, where's the millennium eye?' but he was gone, ignored, irrelevant to their now happy lives.

At first he hated them but Bakura always had trouble with that. Oh he could bitch endlessly to himself or any co-worker listening about how he disliked something someone was doing but he never really hated anything. It just made him tired to have that kind of a strong emotion in him.

There was a soft ding as a customer pressed the service button.

"Oh that will be coffee-san" Miwako said as she began to leave the kitchen to go home.

"Coffee-san?" Bakura repeated to her heading for the coffee pot. Miwako could remember a customers order for months so especially with regulars she's give them little nicknames like that. Pan-san, Pizza-chan, Gaijin-salada-girl.

"Yea, you usually don't work on Friday right? He comes every night at around 11:00 drinks like three pots of coffee while working until we close."

'bah' thought Bakura while giving Miwako a 'sou desu' and heading out with the pot. He hated those customers, they were always so demanding with the coffee, which was totally unfair since they were taking up hours of Bakura's time for only 150¥ they could at least order something else.

However when he pulled around the booth he nearly dropped the pot.

"Kaiba-san..." he whispered causing the dark blue eyes to turn cruelly on him

"You..."

OH EM G CLIFFHANGER!!

Yea these are going to be short chapters and I know you're all WTF, inconsistency between first and second chapter! But it's because i couldn't think of anything to stick there to roll things over to here nicely without everything getting bonered.


	4. Dealing with stuff

Oh right I totally forgot about the explanation. This is what happens when your entire knowledge of a series comes from an abridged version of it. Damn you Little Kurebo, Damn you.

Another Life 4

My father left in a hurry once "Bleach" said he would be taking care of the hospital fees. I was sort of worried, I mean my Dad was (is? I wouldn't know anymore) an archeologist, so you'd think he would have known about me being at a site in his land of dreams.

I guess he just wanted to be rid of me, I mean that one was clear enough considering he didn't call the kid on his quite obvious bullshit.

"Yakuza?" I said bluntly as he approached the bed. What did I care, I was pretty much dead already.

"No but I'm sure you'll wish I was soon enough. Where are they?" He spat, leaning over me to seem more imposing.

Sadly considering I just woke up from a god knows how long coma and was on fun drugs, the effect I'm sure he was going for was quite lost.

That and being tortured on a daily basis by an imaginary friend makes the outside world a lot less scary.

"What?"

"The Millennium Ring and Eye. Where are they grave-robber?"

This dude's fucking nuts.

"What?"

He grabbed me by the throat and started to squeeze, I could hear my heart monitor go nuts as I started to panic a bit.

"Say what one more time and I'll feed you your balls. Where are the Millennium items?"

Don't say what, don't say what, don't say what.

"W... wha..."

Okay thats it, you're on your own.

His grip tightened and I feebly clawed at his hand, black spots dancing in front of my eyes.

"MALIK!"

GASP Oh sweet air never leave me again!

I coughed and gagged as oxygen returned to my lungs and brain. Looking over to my savour I didn't feel that much safer considering she was dressed just as nutty as the whack job choking me.

She wore a white dress and some serious bling all over the place. She looked like a middle eastern rapper.

"What are you doing? You'll kill him!"

"Well he came back from the dead 4 times already I imagine he's got 4 more in him at least" Malik said snottily to the girl.

In a way that clearly showed them as related or in one seriously kinky relationship she grabbed him by the hair and yanked him off my bed.

"Bakura-san?" She asked me.

"Maybe?" I answered, if it was going to involve more asphyxiation, I was admitting to nothing.

She fiddled with one of her necklaces, pointing the part of it that was shaped like and eye at me she glared down. Leaning in closer she pushed my bangs back from my head and inspected my left eye very closely.

"He has the eye but I don't sense the millennium ring on him."

Does this mean I'm dead?

"Shit, listen you little prick where's the ring?" Malik shot in stepping closer to my bed.

Oh yea, I'm still dead.

The girl (and thank all the gods that she was the one in charge here) held up a hand quieting the rambunctious male. "Shhhh... it's here..." She placed a hand on my chest for a moment and I felt the entire earth sidestep.

A hand came out of my chest and she was pulling it out of me.

I can only imagine that to anyone watching, it looked magical, the lights were flickering my heart monitor was making techno music and there was a small earthquake as she gently pulled another person out of my chest.

For me on the other hand it was like a moment out of Aliens where a freakish little creature comes hissing out of your chest. And frankly it felt like she was feeding me my own nut-sack. I was just in too much pain to scream, hence the nicety of the moment for those observing.

I tried to suck in air into my tightened esophagus, making a strange keening noise from my nose, as I was trying to breath and scream at the same time.

Then it was over. The pain fortunately was gone but there was the pressure of having a naked man laying half on me.

"I've gone insane..." I said to myself softly staring at the person who CAME OUT OF MY CHEST and was laying pleasant as you please on me.

He looked like I imagined he would, not that I ever imagined a person coming out of my chest, I mean he the tormenter inside my head. The same face as me but skin a little darker, eyes a little more sinister, hair a little less silky soft. After all he didn't seem the type to use herbal essence, no he was clearly a "bar of soap" kind of guy, and he didn't use Ivory, no he'd use some cheap shit.

I think around this time I passed out, or just blocked it all from my memory due to shock.

When my memories kicked back in, or consciousness, I was sitting in an empty apartment. No bed, no stuff nothing, one tiny room with a fridge tucked under the kitchen sink and a two element stove right next to it. A tiny closet was next to them with a very tiny washed machine inside it. Other then that it was me, some street clothes and the carpet. (Okay that's a lie, there was no carpet.)

Fortunately I still had my wallet with me, as it took me a few days to sort of figure out what the hell I was doing. I went to my old house and nearly gave the retailer a heart attack because the poor lady thought I was dead. The money I had from high school was still in my bank account which had accumulated 4 years worth of interest, but at 2 on ¥1,000,000 that's not that much, The apartment I was in had a years worth of rent on it and for some reason Kiba Corp. was my guaranteer but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I was essentially another faceless person in Tokyo, I had a high school diploma That I couldn't remember getting and 4 years of my life, lived but not remembered.

So I got a job, lived paycheque by paycheque putting away as much as possible for some future that I didn't know about and lived in fear that he would come back.

"And that's how I got here" I finished telling Kaiba.

He glowered at me the whole time I was talking, I was surprised he even asked what happened to me after battle city, I was surprised he didn't wave me off, call me crazy or tell me to shut up half way through, he just sat and listened.

"So you can't remember what happened at Battle City?" He said slowly as though speaking to a child.

I shook my head.

"Good."

Well that wasn't the answer I was expecting.

"I was worried that your disappearance was somehow the fault of my companies, that why I guaranteed your apartment after the Ishtar's contacted me. They certainly made it out like there could be a lawsuit in the wings. Since you have no recollection of the events that caused your disappearance and sudden re-apperance It's safe to assume it is of no concern of mine."

"Does this mean you're going to take away my apartment?" I said dejectedly, after all Kiba always did come across as that kind of an asshole.

"Get me more coffee, I'll think about it." He said dismissivly looking down at his paperwork and promptly ignoring me.

"Yes sir" I grumbled slinking back to the kitchen.

Thar, explanations and yet, none at all.


	5. All Hallows Eve

Yay Chapter 5!

It would be nice to say that Kiba and I hit it off after that. That we became steadfast friends or some movie like stuff.

As fantastic as that would be, and as movie like my life once was, I had no such luck. Kiba ignored my general existence and I generally tried not to remind him I was around, partially out of fear that at any moment his kindness would run out and I'd be homeless, partially because he was a surly crank-pot who would probably die of an ulcer within the next few years, and I've got better standards then that.

Although, he did keep coming back for coffee.

Two months later...

"Happy Halloween!" Miwako called out to the backs of the customer

"Happy Halloween!" Bakura chimed in with the rest of the staff.

Miwako adjusted her witches hat a little back on her head as she bent over to assist Bakura clearing the table,

"So Bakura-kun, you got any plans tonight?" she asked.

"meh" he answered. "Sleep, maybe play some video games."

"God you're such an Otaku."

"Hey, if I'm at home, I'm not out spending money." He justified indignantly.

"So I suppose you wouldn't want to come down to Roppongi with me and some of my friends for a Halloween Party?"

Bakura made a strained face, Roppongi had to be the most expensive place to go for a party.

"It's free."

"You just said the magic words to get me to go anywhere."

"Only you need to dress up"

"You just killed my free party boner..."

Miwako nearly dropped her dishes hearing the demure boy say such a scandalous thing.

"BAKURA-KUN!"

Bakura grinned saucily and scampered past her into the kitchen.

"But I don't have a costume" He complained.

"Oh don't worry I have something just for you."

Never trust women.

She had a costume for me alright, apparently it was a theme party, something involving doctors and nurses, only genders were switched, so I, for the night, was Nurse Miko Miko-chan.

A tight pink nurse uniform, high heels and everything.

"If the boss sees me, I blame you" I grumbled tugging down my skirt as we headed to the train station.

Miwako waved me off and smiled at the group of old men who were staring at us.

Well at least I wouldn't see anyone I knew, I mean Roppongi was a big place, what were the chances?

Now I can see what you're thinking there, I just jinks'ed myself right?

Wrongo!

The nigh was fine, there was a club that we were getting in for free if you dressed up, so I got the drink ticket and free entry. Any other drinks I would have to pay for but Porcelain God bless the light weight ne? One drink and I'm already in my cups for the night.

The club was awesome, a little hole in the wall kind of place with techno samba like music, maybe a total of 40 people crammed inside. Around 12 almost everyone left and was replaced by the "All nighter's" The one's who were not catching the last train and would crawl home when the first train at 6 am started to run.

We were part of that crowd.

Around 4 we were too tired to dance any longer, Miwako's friend Erina lead us to a cheap karaoke, The only song I remember was us singing "I wanna be a pop star" like 5 time, Oh and "Mexican Samba"

When the phone rang at 6 to tell us our time was up I was so bloody knackerd I was starting to speak English to everyone.

"Miwa-chan" I yawned as we road the Yamanote back to our apartments, Miwako lived at the same station I did but on the opposite side of the tracks with her family. "We have to work today don't we?"

"uhh... Yea but not until... 5, so we can crash for 6 hours and still have lots of time to get to work"

"kay" I responded while leaning on her shoulder.

"Ne, Miwa-chan"

"Nn"

"Isn't this our stop?"

"Nn... OH OH!"

Racing off the train we made it just as the doors were about to close on us.

Looking into the train glass as it raced away I could see a smile on my sleepy face. For the first time, in longer then I could remember, I really had a good time.

"Ne Miwa-chan"

"Nn"

I put my arms around her shoulders hugging her from behind.

"Thank you"

and that's when they fell down the escalator...

Kidding kidding R/R plzÅByes it does get BxK eventually.


	6. Free Monies!

And another, Damn I should kick start some of my Gundam Wing crap, I'm acctually yanno... writing.

srug

I woke up that evening feeling pretty decent, tired for sure, but fortunately not hung over as I imagined Miwako would be.

What can I say I'm a light drinker and have the biological advantage of being a boy and thus, a minutely faster metabolism to burn off the effect. Yay for penises!

Well that and I chugged two vitamin waters before I went to sleep.

Both of which I REALLY needed to get rid of! Gotta pee gotta pee!!

After going to the bathroom I rushed around the house and head off for work. I was cutting the trains a little closer then I usually like but I was still on time.

"Have a good night?" I beamed at Miwako as she dragged herself in half an hour late and looking like she was dead.

Mumbling something incoherent at me I grinned, there was nothing better then not having a hangover, then someone else having one. What can I say I'm a little malicious at heart.

Kaiba was in that night which was strange because he usually came in on the same night every second week to pull an all nighter and catch up on his work.

I weaseled out of him as to why he came here instead of his office or his own home.

"Why do you care?" He said cooly at first.

"I don't really" I replied, I figured with a guy like Kaiba brutal honesty would be the best, after all when you're a million upon millionaire people were probably trying to chronically bullshit you.

And really the stick up his ass was far too big to give brown-nosers any real leverage to kiss up.

"I'm just curious, why come here when I'm sure you could be somewhere better and more productive."

Kaiba stared at me for a while with in that calculating manner he often did, half of the time it creeped me out, the other half made me wonder if he wasn't a little autistic or something.

"Mokuba" He said bluntly. "I come here because Mokuba insists that I take some time off work, he forces me to go home by 10 and won't permit me to work weekends."

I gave him my own lazy stare.

"You don't really seem the type to be so..." whipped "Brotherly."

He snorted as though he could hear my thoughts. "Normally no, but he does have a point, 6 hours of rest guarantee sharper performance, and if I don't his constant pestering make it even harder to get work done, especially since he will then insist on helping, so I tell him I'm going out with friends and come here to catch up."

The disdain in his voice was a poor mask for the underlaying affection that was there. I couldn't help but grin at him.

"Oh shut up and get me more coffee" He snapped dismissivly turning back to his work.

I headed out to him immediately with the coffee and continued to indulge in my curiosity by reading over his shoulder at the documents before him. It didn't look like anything that business oriented, he appeared to be translating an article on the latest holographic advanced from a up and coming American company called GX. Frankly in comparison to the duel disks the technology didn't look that impressive, but what the hell do I know, I can hardly function a computer without breaking something. Kaiba seemed to be the obsessive sort so he had a notebook and two dictionaries.

"Did you ever graduate from High school?" I asked, sliding into his booth across from him.

"Did you ever learn to mind your own business?"

"No."

"Well me neither" He admitted. "The company was bequeathed to me in my fathers will, I never had time to attend after battle city, I took an equivalency test, what's with all the questions?"

"No reason, just this magazine is a little higher caliber then anything you would have covered at Domino"

He just stared at me, clearly conveying a 'so?'

"Why not just get a translator?" I continued.

"Takes too long, too hard to find a good one, they wouldn't pull all nighters in a coffee shop with me."

hmmm, he has a point.

"Can I see?"

he shrugged and leaned back giving the magazine a little push towards me. Reading over it I confirmed that it didn't seem very interesting, basically a junked copy of Kaiba co.'s system, the review article made that pretty clear.

I began to read the relevant technological part, translating roughly from English to Japanese.

Kiba stared after he realized I was actually reading the article and jotted down a few points I made.

"How accurate would you say you are?" he asked.

I shrugged "My mom would make me traslate english TV programs while she watched them back in England, she could generally hold a bit of a conversation but once I was able to proficiently talk she basically depended on me as her traslater."

"Can you read this?" He asked passing me some printouts.

"uugh..." I groaned after reading the first few lines "This is a lot of legal junk, I think I might need a dictionary but generally yea, if you want exact you'll have to hire someone but if you just want the jist I could mull it over."

"I'll give you 100 if you can even give me the jist of it, it's for a contract that I was supposed to finish yesterday but the time difference only gives me until about 3 am to e-mail it in."

100 for reading a one page contract... WHILE getting paid 13 for sitting here anyway.

Sweet!

I skimmed it over and grabbed Kaibas electronic dictionary to check a few words just so I was sure what they meant. Maybe took an hour, less if I didn't need to get up to help another night hawk customer who wandered in but that gave me time to mull over wording choice and sentence structure. Reading back to him in as legal of a manner but still simplified I was able to translate the small contract with ease.

Kaiba tapped away at his laptop stopping to clarify points and word choice but needless to say it was the easiest hundred bucks I've ever made.

Kaiba looked sufficiently pleased after I was done.

"You were helpful, this cut my time down substantially" he admitted fishing a 100 bill from his wallet and the proper change to pay for the coffee.

"No no good sir the pleasure of business is all mine on this account."

He gave me a bit of a strange smirk at that before heading off with a wave and no look behind.

As he left I hoped the English contract would go well, money for doing something that comes naturally, I can only dream for more tax free cash opportunities.

- I don't know what the Japanese school was but I remember the english as Domino right?


End file.
